


Eyes Are a Window to the Soul

by morningoceanmist



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: Canon Compliant, M/M, basically they go on a date and they’re sappy, brown eyes appreciation because they’re beautiful!!!, its ok bc nico does the same thing right after, will tries to be romantic but he just ends up being weird
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-15 14:55:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29685693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/morningoceanmist/pseuds/morningoceanmist
Summary: Will thinks Nico’s eyes are pretty.
Relationships: Nico di Angelo/Will Solace
Comments: 4
Kudos: 81





	Eyes Are a Window to the Soul

**Author's Note:**

> HERE WE GO!!!!! i promise i am working on the next chapter for my other fic but i wanted to write this!!

Autumn was beautiful in New York.

It was so unlike Texas, where Will had grown up. The fall season in Texas was brief, and often carried the same heat as summer. Autumn in New York was full of color, and the air was ripe with a pleasant chill.

Will tolerated the heat fairly well—enjoyed it even—but the brisk air was a refreshing change. His naturally high body temperature permitted him to go out in only a light sweater without discomfort.

Nico, on the other hand, was not so lucky. He stuck close to Will as they walked, leeching off his body heat despite donning an insulated jacket and a hat.

Now that summer was over, Camp Half Blood was quiet. Thus, Will had much more time off from the infirmary, and he aimed to take advantage of that. Yesterday, he’d spent the entire day watching movies in his cabin with his siblings. Today, he was taking Nico on a walk through New York City as a date.

Summer at camp could be fun, and Will missed many of the demigods who returned home for the school year, but the newfound freedom he enjoyed when autumn rolled around was much appreciated.

Will wrapped an arm around his shivering boyfriend’s shoulders. “It’s  _ not _ that cold, darlin’. 

Nico frowned up at him. “Says  _ you _ . You’re like a walking heat lamp.”

Will nodded, faking a forlorn expression. “That’s all I am too you, I know.”

Nico pressed his face into Will’s arm, muffling his laugh. “You’re a dork.”

Will ruffled Nico’s hair. “A dork who’s about to buy you coffee. Watch it.” 

Nico attempted to smooth his hair back into place. Will didn’t really see the point, since the boy had eternal bed head anyway. Will ruffling his hair up barely made a noticeable difference.

“No,  _ I’m _ paying this time. You paid last time. It’s only fair.” Nico insisted, stubborn glint evident in his dark eyes. Will shrugged.

“I won’t fight you on that. Free coffee is free coffee.”

━━━━━━━━━━━━

The coffeeshop was a cozy little place with a rustic sort of beauty. String lights dangled from the windows and door frames, lighting the room up in a soft golden glow. Little wooden tables were scattered here and there, most of them occupied by a pair of friends chatting over drinks or the occasional college student furiously typing on their laptop. There was a small stage off in the corner of the shop, beneath the largest window, where a young woman was perched on a metal stool as she strummed on her guitar. A few people had gathered closely around her, obviously intrigued. Another woman, who looked so strikingly similar to the guitar player that Will wondered if they were twins, was filming the performance on a cellphone. She  was quite good; Will didn’t have much musical prowess of his own, but he could still recognize talent when he saw it.

“Hey, Will?” Nico’s voice sounded from beside him. Will turned to look down at his boyfriend, who had a mildly embarrassed expression on his face. “Can you order the drinks? I’ll still pay.”

Will grinned, nudging him playfully. “What makes you think  I want to do it?”

Nico huffed out a protesting  _ hmph_. “Please?”

Will rolled his eyes. “I wasn’t going to say  no.” He felt his heart warm at the bright, thankful smile Nico gave him. “What do you want me to get for you?”

Nico pulled a few crumpled dollar bills out of his pocket and handed them to Will. “I don’t care, as long as it actually tastes good.”

Will had learned by now that meant anything saturated with sugar. Nico had a major sweet tooth, while Will couldn’t stand sugary drinks. Black coffee was good enough for him.

Will ordered his coffee and decided on a mocha for Nico, figuring it would be loaded with enough sugar and flavor to satiate him. He gave his name to the barista—a tired looking girl with long dark hair—and stepped aside to wait for the drinks. 

Nico stepped in front of Will, then leaned back, smushing his back into Will’s chest and leaning his full weight onto Will. This would have been highly uncomfortable had Nico not been about the same weight as a medium-sized dog. Will was acutely reminded of the way his mother’s border collie would lean against him whenever he would go to pet her.

Will wrapped his arms around Nico from behind, squeezing the boy against his body. Nico didn’t make an attempt to get away.

“Jokes on you, I’m cold and I  _ want  _ to be hugged.” Nico mumbled, leaning into Will even more.

Their strange, passive-aggressive competition of trying to squish the other came to an end when the barista called Will’s name. They grabbed their drinks and headed back out into the brisk morning air.

“Did you want to walk to a park and hang out? Not Central Park, though. That’s a cheesy place for a date.” Will asked. He was distinctly sure he heard Nico mutter, “well, you  _ are _ cheesy” under his breath, but he elected to ignore it. 

“Going to a park for a date is cheesy no matter what.” Nico glanced up at Will, and tucked a lock of dark hair behind his ear. “I really don’t care where we go. It’ll be fun as long as I’m with you.”

“Gross. And  _ I’m _ the cheesy one?” Will took Nico’s free hand in his own and squeezed it. “I was thinking we’d go to Riverside Park. It’s pretty. But not as pretty as—“

“Don’t finish that sentence.” Nico interrupted.

“—you.” Will finished, grinning.

Nico buried his face into Will’s side, but Will could tell he was smiling. “We’re gonna have Percy and Annabeth beat for most obnoxious couple.”

━━━━━━━━━━━━

They ended up sitting on a bench at the base of a towering maple tree, alight with the colors of autumn. The breeze was strong enough that a few red leaves would be plucked from their perches and flutter to the ground every couple of minutes or so.

Nico was busy telling Will about his last visit to Camp Jupiter, and their drinks from the coffeeshop had long been finished. He and Hazel had gone into New Rome on a brief shopping trip, and for the first time ever, they had attempted to use an elevator. It had not gone well. The blond was beginning to think he should start keeping an inventory of Nico and Hazel’s amusing attempts to understand modern concepts and technology.

Will did his best to listen carefully to Nico’s story, but his thoughts began to move astray. He found himself distracted by Nico’s face: his soft facial features, the light splatter of freckles on his face, and most notably, his eyes. They were so full of emotion—they always had been. For as long as Will had known Nico, he’d had the most expressive eyes. They’d always been pretty too; large and so dark brown they looked nearly black in the right light, with long, dark eyelashes. Even when his eyes were ringed with shadows from stress or lack of sleep, Will still found them pretty.

Nico, seemingly not noticing that Will was hardly paying attention, kept talking. “How was I supposed to know what all the buttons on that elevator would do? It’s not like there were directions! Gods, is everyone just expected to know how  _ everything _ works all the time? Hazel would back me up—she didn’t get it either!” Nico had taken to waving his hands around, something Will noticed he did when he was feeling particularly passionate about a topic.

“Mhm.” 

Nico narrowed his eyes. “Are you listening to me?”

“Absolutely.”

“No you’re not.”

“Your eyes are pretty. They’re cow-like.” Will blabbered.

Nico raised a brow at that, looking mildly offended. “ What ?”

“It’s a compliment!” Will assured him, now realizing how strange that sounded once the words were out of his mouth. “It’s kinda the same thing as... what’s the phrase? Doe eyes? Yeah! That’s it!” He snapped his fingers. “I’m just saying that you’re cute.”

Nico rolled his eyes, but his cheeks were red. “Sure.”

“I’m serious! Cows are like, one of my favorite animals. Have you ever seen their eyes? They’re big and brown, like yours. They’re cute!” Will exclaimed.

“Your favorite animal is a  _cow_?” Nico questioned.

“You’re so judgmental.  _Your_ favorite is a cat. That’s boring. And they’re not my  _ favorite,_ they’re  _ one of _ my favorites. My number one favorite is a horse.”

Nico pouted. “Cats aren’t boring. Okay, my turn to give you a weird compliment.” He leaned back to study Will for a moment. “You’re... um, tall. Like a... majestic, beautiful giraffe? And your eyes are blue. Like those huskies with blue eyes.”

Will nodded. “I’m flattered.”

“That was no worse than what you said!” Nico snickered, shoving at Will’s shoulder. “And blue-eyed huskies look cool.”

A breeze fluttered through the air, colder than before. Will shivered slightly. 

Nico took notice, pulled off his hat, and handed it to Will. “Here. I’m not that cold anymore.”

Will pulled the soft hat over his head, smiling. “We should probably be getting back to camp, huh? If the air’s cooling down, it must be getting late. You good to shadow travel?”

Nico bit his lip. “Actually, I’m kind of tired. I’d probably pass out when we get to camp. But, I could summon Jules-Albert for a ride. Then, y’know...” he ducked his head. “This wouldn’t have to be over so quickly.”

Will squeezed Nico’s hand gently. “Sounds good to me.”

**Author's Note:**

> quite a few coffeshops around where i live (before covid obv) often had live music. it’s such a nice way to give local artists a chance to perform and i always loved it. i miss going to coffeshops literally that was the main reason i wanted to write this
> 
> also i always end up having to order things for people when we go out anywhere so i’m projecting that onto will he is now the designated Order Stuff Guy
> 
> also big thanks to @the-ghost-king on tumblr, his post abt nico’s eyes inspired this fic!!! u can find me on tumblr @gayleafpool


End file.
